The other day I got the question if someone should bid on their branded term even if they are already in the number one spot. This is a question that I get asked a lot. Should I be bidding on my branded terms when I own the space and no one is bidding on them?
A big misconception in the PPC worlds is that you don’t need to spend money bidding on your brand name. Most businesses are already ranked number one for their branded terms and they should be if it’s their business name. But you always should be bidding on your branded name, this gives you 2 of the top ten links on the searched page your business. Sure you may pay a bit for this but it’s worth it and will drive down your costs in the long run.
Even if you rank number one for your branded term, no everyone clicks on the organic listings. The ads are meant to stand out and people will click on them. Keep in mind the new trademark policies that Google has put into the system won’t prevent your competitors from bidding on your branded name unless you have it trademarked. Even then it’s a bit of a hassle to get their ads taken down. There are so many times that people will put an ad up that looks like it’s from your company to steal your traffic. It’s easy to do and if no one else is bidding on those terms, they can do it all day long at minimum costs.
While you can’t prevent anyone from bidding on your branded terms you can encourage them to stop. If you are running ads with a branded website with a URL that is matching what you’re bidding on, it will drive down their quality scores and crapify their account. By bidding on your branded terms it will also drive up their costs and drive them out assuming they are watching their campaigns.
When in doubt test it out and see if you get more traffic because of it. Make sure you know everything beyond the click. By knowing this, it will help you to make the best decision possible.
If you like this article please comment below or check out the rest of my articles.
